Steven Daines and Laurent Picheral will be members of the Executive Committee. They will replace Peter Verhoeven who joins Booking.com.

These appointments will be effective as of July 1st, 2014.

Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor declared: “I am very happy for Peter who is seizing a compelling opportunity. I am convinced he has the talent and energy to make this turning point in his career a great success and I wish him the very best.
To replace him, we decided to opt for continuity and internal promotion by drawing on Accor’s rich talent pool. Steven and Laurent are highly respected professionals with perfect knowledge of the Group and great team spirit. They will pursue Accor’s sustained expansion in their respective regions and consolidate the leadership position Accor already holds in these markets.”

Steven Daines is a graduate of the University of Geneva and holds an MBA in Hospitality Administration /Management from ESSEC. He started his career with Accor by joining Compagnie des Wagons-lits where he held various operational positions in France and internationally between 1994 and 2005 before being appointed Managing Director for the economy brands in Latin America. He has been Managing Director Ibis Budget and HotelF1 France since 2012.

Laurent Picheral is a graduate of EDHEC Business School. He started his career in 1989 as an auditor with KPMG before moving to Salustro Reydel in 1995 as Senior Operating Director in charge of Development. He joined Accor’s Financial Department in 1997 where he held various positions in Internal Audit, including Director of Internal Group Audit from 2000. In 2003, he was appointed Finance Director of Accor Hotellerie Deutschland GmbH and in 2006 he became Managing Director in charge of Finance, Tax, Legal Affairs and IT for Germany. He has been CEO of Poland since 2010. Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator, offers its guests and partners the dual expertise of a hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices) and a hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest) with the objective of ensuring lasting growth and harmonious development for the benefit of the greater number.

With around 3,600 hotels and 460,000 rooms, Accor welcomes business and leisure travelers in 92 countries across all hotel segments: luxury-upscale with Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, and Grand Mercure, midscale with Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio and economy with ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and hotelF1.

The Group boasts a powerful digital ecosystem, notably its booking portal accorhotels.com, its brand websites and its loyalty program Le Club Accorhotels.

As the world’s top hospitality school, Accor is committed to developing the talents of its 170,000 employees in Accor brand hotels. They are the daily ambassadors of the culture of service and innovation that has driven the Group for over 45 years.